Drowsy Nurse Drops Newborn Baby, Fractures Skull

It’s every new parent’s worst nightmare: their newborn baby is injured while in the hospital’s care.

On Tuesday morning, a veteran nurse at Uniontown Hospital in Pennsylvania accidentally dropped a 1-day-old baby while feeding and burping him in the hospital’s nursery. Though the baby suffered from a minimally displaced skull fracture, he is expected to make a full recovery, according to a hospital spokesperson. The hospital is investigating what may have caused the nurse to drop the young boy, but preliminarily suspect that the nurse had become drowsy and fallen asleep, before dropping him.

A hospital spokesperson told to Associated Press that it was unclear to him what shift the nurse was working or how many hours she had been on duty when she dropped the baby. But if it turns out fatigue played a role, the hospital could make changes to prevent similar situations, he said.

The unfortunate truth is thousands of patients are injured or killed each year because of negligent behavior by healthcare professionals. Medical malpractice can take place in a number of medical settings and may involve doctors, dentists, nurses, surgeons, midwives, anesthesiologists, technicians, oncologists and physicians. Common types of cases involving medical malpractice include: medical misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose, delayed treatment, birth injuries, surgical mistakes, physician errors, hospital-induced infections, hospital negligence, prescription errors and inadequate safety or staffing.

Because medical malpractice cases are typically very complicated, it is within a victim and his/her family’s best interest to consult with a legal professional experienced in medical malpractice lawsuit litigation. While no amount of financial compensation will ever make up for the injury or loss of a loved one, victims and their families are entitled to financial recourse against responsible parties.

At the law offices of Altman & Altman, LLP, our team of dedicated Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Attorneys understand the complexity of medical malpractice cases and the challenges faced by those who’ve been injured as the result by a healthcare professional’s negligence. We promise to stand by our clients and explore every avenue of recourse for our clients.

Our lawyers are available around the clock—24 hours a day, seven days a week as well as nights and weekends to assist our clients with any questions, concerns, etc. that they may have about their case. If you or a loved one was recently injured at the result of medical negligence, call our office today to schedule a case evaluation with one of our seasoned team members. All initial consultations are completely free and confidential.

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